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We propose a new perspective. The inspiration behind our design comes from nature because we want to replicate the ingenuity of an ant mound.

In terms of materials, we tried using most of what the surface could offer. The regolith could have many different applications. In its precast form, it could be used for creating effective pressure vessels, while additive manufacture would allow for it to be used in other ways besides rapid prototyping – by creating a textile material. 

The modular components that compose the Moonbase represent the safest choice that allows us to isolate specific sections of the structure in case of damage. To further ensure safety, the external structure shall be fully covered by ice (to protect the crew from neutron radiation), while in the interior we opted to include well – being enhancing systems that simulate Earth conditions and diminish psychological stressors.

Our team has decided to build the Moon Camp in the vicinity of Cabeus, an impact crater located at the south pole of our Moon, for three main reasons: the existence of water under solid form inside the crater, near-constant sunlight and a thick enough layer of regolith for our underground base. Water is an extremely important resource to have, not only because humans can use it to cook and to clean, but also because it can be used as protection against ionizing radiation. Furthermore, by building our camp beneath the surface the regolith will provide an extra layer of protection against the radiation. The almost permanent illumination is also vital because it represents a cheap and easy way to produce energy, by harvesting it with solar panels that need little to no maintenance.

Initially, a probe is to survey the surface and check for the presence of water and if the depth of the regolith is adequate. After that, the initial drilling module will land in the designated spot. In the next phase, the Temporary Encampment and the Solar Panel Array will be deployed alongside a Utilities module which will deploy construction and survey drones and also melt and electrolyse the collected resources. We then suggest utilising low-efficiency Small Nuclear Reactor brought from Earth. The drilling module would then dig a tunnel. Consequently, both modules would pump the extracted gas at high temperatures and high pressures in order to create bubbles that will expand, creating a perfect reservoir from the water that will be pumped inside and kept at the required temperature using resistors. The base would then be constructed using drones by assembling regolith glass cast plates held together with water-resistant adhesives.

Being located in the vicinity of Cabeus Crater, our Moon Camp will be able to profit from the large source of frozen water that is located inside the crater, which is in almost permanent shadow, keeping it in solid state. Our team plans to drill and cut chunks of ice from the huge frozen lake and then transform them into liquid state using resistors and microwaves. The resulting water will be used for all purposes.

We aim towards developing a food system based on the use of in advance preservation and packaging technologies as well as bioregenerative life-support systems.
Our provisioning strategies include already-used prepackaged foods such as thermostabilized, irradiated, or rehydratable ones, but extending products’ shelf-life past the 2 years point is necessary in case of an emergency.
Moreover, aeroponics represents the best choice for a BLSS because of the reduced water usage and maximized crop yields, combined with our design which increases the cultivated area. Additionally, we want to include syntrophic mixed cultures of bacteria and yeast to serve as a meat replacement.

We aim to use solar power in the early phase of the project due to its readily-available nature. Its disadvantage would be the maintenance and periodical replacement since the regolith would scratch its surface. However, we also suggest utilising a small nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor could have fewer moving parts by replacing the turbines with thermocouples and cooling systems which make use of the low external temperatures. The reduction in efficiency would overall make the power grid more manageable. We also propose that the lunar vehicle use Hydrogen fuel cells instead of batteries because it might prove more cost-effective.

The first way in which we want to provide air is based on the current technologies that are used on the ISS, including Oxygen generators (similar to ECLSS and Elecktron which both electrolyze water and remove CO2 from the atmosphere), emergency pressurized oxygen tanks, high-pressure N2 gas bottles or cryogenic liquid N2.
The second alternative represents Oxygen-extracting ISRU processes (facilitated by the lunar O2-rich soils), specifically the molten oxide electrolysis or the Ilmenox Process. The latter’s technical details make it the method of choice since it is anticipated that three reactors (each 1m high) would generate 1 tonne O2/year.

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By situating the camp underground mostly, it would gain protection against solar flares, meteors, and other similar threats and a part of the radiation coming from Space. The water blanket around our base aims at offering protection from radiation, especially from neutron radiation which would be hard to protect against otherwise. The network of resistors situated in the water would offer thermal protection for those inside the camp. Lastly, by using precast regolith to build our permanent encampment we would create effective pressure vessels that would be harder to make using 3D-printed materials.

In order to facilitate the operation of the moon base astronauts need to have a highly organised schedule. Considering the activities the astronauts have to perform daily, the “ideal timeline” resembles this template:

06:00: WAKING HOUR – First things first, a morning inspection of the most important station parameters is mandatory. After that, the crew members are allowed to follow their own morning routine and do all the post-sleep activities. Later, they respond to the messages received overnight.

07:00: BREAKFAST

07:30: CONFERENCE WITH THE EARTH QUARTERS – The astronauts are filled in and they review the specific activities and experiments, which have to be done during the day.

08:00: EXERCISE – Exercise plays a crucial role in maintaining astronauts’ health, so a total of 2.5h (spread out in several timeframes) is spent by each member on the treadmill, RED and CVIS devices. Countermeasures to prevent physical deconditioning include LBNP training and intermittent exposures to artificial gravity (by using a short-arm centrifuge)

10:30: MAINTENANCE – This covers several activities: the more time-demanding ones involve the workshop where the crew has to perform camp maintenance and development.  

11:30: WORK TIME – Experiments regarding Moon’s chemical or physical characteristics (i.e. further analysis of the origins, applications, and chemical makeup of the regolith) also take place, as well as crew’s biological samples interpretation (i.e. urine and blood tests). 

13:00: LUNCH

14:00: WORK TIME  – contains some of the activities from above, depending on the day and the individual’s needs. EVAs are also performed for collecting soil samples and surveying the lunar surface, besides the regular maintenance procedures. 

19:00: CONFERENCE WITH EARTH QUARTERS – They discuss the day’s accomplishments and the following day’s plan.

19:30: DINNER AND RELAXATION TIME – they can spend time together or individually in the Common Room, talking with relatives or just unwind through different activities. 

21:00: Preparing the vital systems for the night and pre-sleep activities. 

21:30: SLEEP